Daily Diary - July 28th, 2016

A Dad’s Measure of Faith!

As my father is recovering from heart surgery I have learned a great deal about life and how we face the reality of the challenges it has for us.  I learned about faith by listening to my dad and how he faced this difficult challenge.  He faced open-heart surgery with faith and hope of what was to come.  He said many times leading up to the surgery how he will soon get going so he can watch his grandsons play baseball at Leedey this fall and follow Drew’s minor league games on the computer. 

There was one key statement of faith he made to His doctor John Randolph when they met.  Dad found out that doctor Randolph used to play football for OU.  Dad quickly told the Doc that he wanted to be able to see OU play Texas again.  A game that he had attended 55 straight times until the last 2 years.  It was clear that my dad had great expectations and faith of his recovery and that he would be out attacking life again soon.

Dad is 80 years old and he was in complete anticipation of not only what he “would do” again, but that he would even do more. 

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³ By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

To have faith is a measure of hope that comes from outside our own strength.  It comes from knowing that God holds our future.  My dad commented yesterday that he believes God has the time he will go home to be with the Lord. He believes his days are numbered from his first breath till his last one by God.

Jeremiah 29:11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I gained a revelation about dad and it correlated to myself about how many battles we had fought in the game of baseball over the years.  When you stand in the battle with the game on the line you gain faith in players and the outcome.  When you have been in the bottom of the last inning with a 3-2 count on the batter and 2 outs and the game on the line you have faith that your guy can throw a strike.  In reverse that your player at the plate can get a hit. 

I tell my players all the time that I love “being in the battle” of sports where the bullets are flying.  I would much rather be in a fierce battle where the outcome is at risk than a lopsided win.  I learned this nature from my dad.  It’s the nature that we have as people to be challenged by NEEDING faith and hope for an outcome.  It is a place that is internal, it has us seeking help from our father, it’s a place of security in the good and bad.  Dad and I both have lost many of these games but we still glean from the same hope the next time. 

I really believe we can find peace in the midst of adversity, because it drives us to a place that we no longer have control ourselves but we must lean on faith from humility.

As my father faced the battle with surgery I sensed the same hope and faith.  It was a faith, that win or lose this battle, he would have courage and hope for the next battle.  I believe he had practiced faith so much in his life that he has become a “man of faith”. 

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The point I am making is that my father was a rewarder by faith whether he wins or loses this battle.  He has the eternal hope of knowing Jesus Christ as savior. 

For all the Traveler faithful that remember “5” as a coach, I must tell you that HE won his greatest victory by knowing Jesus as His savior and He holds his future both now and forever!

To have faith we have to believe in something that is outside of our own strength.  To believe in something that is much greater than ourselves.  God holds the future for us all and we have the gift of salvation that brings us hope and faith.

I saw a great example of faith by watching my father speak his life forward into a new future here on earth.  It takes courage to lead people and I saw my dad’s greatest example of leadership by his faith he has showed this week.  In the midst of this challenge he IS a rewarder of God’s blessing now and forever in Jesus name!

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

I saw my father “choose life” both spiritually and physically.  This life will pass away here on earth for us all, but we have an opportunity to live it to the fullest while we are here.  My dad’s children and grandchildren will live in this same hope and promise of our future now and forever in Jesus name!

Father we thank you for salvation today.  We ask that you build our faith by our circumstances and the situations around us.  We are more than conquerors in Jesus name! Amen!

Romans 8:37-39 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.